Nashville television station WSMV-4 has barred Greeneville-based Dugger Band from performing their patriotic song True Colors on its network because it feared the pro-America lyrics were “politically biased.”
The band, consisting of brothers Jordan and Seth Dugger, shared a social media post on Tuesday claiming to have received an email from a WSMV-4 employee. They stated that the email came only after the station invited them to perform the song on its morning program.
“So sorry that I didn’t raise this flag before, but we’re just now really looking into the lyrics of the song. The song does cross a political line that we as a station cannot cross,” the WSMV representative reportedly told the brothers.
“We as a show and the station do not allow any politically biased songs on either side of the line. We’re going to have to ask the band to perform a different song on Wednesday. We could still mention that they recently released it, but we will still need to explore a different song to perform. Please let us know if you have any questions or how we can help make this change,” the station representative reportedly told the brothers.
In the social media post, Jordan Dugger said the pair wrote the song “because we’re proud to be Americans and we’re tired of people putting the USA down.”
Is loving the USA really that controversial?? https://t.co/74b1boO2qy @WSMV #duggerband #USA pic.twitter.com/sO2b3zW6n9
— Dugger Band Official (@Dugger_Band) March 11, 2025
Fellow country musician John Rich shared the story on X and encouraged his followers to “BLOW THIS STORY UP.”
“You won’t BELIEVE this! @WSMVin Nashville has censored my friends @Dugger_Band and their new Pro-America song “True Colors.” I produced this record and love these guys, so this is personal to me. Watch the vid for the full story & pls repost!” Rich posted.
You won’t BELIEVE this! @WSMV in Nashville has censored my friends @Dugger_Band and their new Pro-America song “True Colors.” I produced this record and love these guys, so this is personal to me. Watch the vid for the full story & pls repost! 🇺🇸BLOW THIS STORY… pic.twitter.com/WBqIu5GUJG
— John Rich🇺🇸 (@johnrich) March 11, 2025
Rich advised the brothers not to take the offer from WSMV-4 to perform a less patriotic song.
“I said, well under no circumstances do you kiss the ring of some liberal, commie-acting news organization like WSMV, telling you that your freedom of speech doesn’t mean anything to them, that they’re going to dictate what you get to sing,” Rich said.
Show the Dugger Band some support — listen to True Colors below: